Mirrored Eyes
by Shadows Twilight
Summary: The day Team AKRN was formed, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. I was at Beacon, I was surrounded by friends, everything was good. Then I made a mistake, and went along with that stupid prank. I'm not sure what I saw, but I don't know how I can trust our leader anymore, now that I've seen the darkness that rests behind his mirrored eyes.
1. Silver Prologue

**Inner Monologue: Wait, is it pretentious to write "trailers" for my own OC's? Can fanfics even _have_ trailers? Ah, screw it, I'm writing them anyway.**

 **AN: Hello, and welcome to the first anything that I have written in a very long time, _Mirrored Eyes._ This is something that I've had stewing in my head for a while now, so I figured I'd stop thinking about it and actually write it. I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to give feedback.**

 **Full disclaimer, this is completely unrelated to the Mark Zhang trailers. It just so happened that nothing really fit better than "Silver".**

* * *

 _While the path behind can be observed by all, only blinded eyes may gaze ahead  
_

Snow fell across the lonely village that lie hours northwest of the capital city of Vale. The streets were quiet, the residents already gone in for the night in wake of the upcoming storm. Streets that were normally bustling with people lay vacant, and the shops that were usually open and full of shopkeeps boasting their wares were closed, their doors bolted shut and their shutters closed and locked from within.

In the town square, in front of a statue of an armored man holding a strange two-bladed sword at his side, sat what looked to be the only resident of the town that still stirred. He was a young man, only barely old enough to be called a man at all. A mottled grey cloak draped over his shoulders, and a matching strip of cloth covered his eyes. Snow clung to his sandy brown hair, as his pale fingers strummed the guitar he held against his chest. A small fire was lit beside him, illuminating him and the small box in front of him that held a few spare lien.

It would have seemed that the boy would have sat their all night strumming his guitar, if not for the otherwise silent air was broken by the sound of boots crunching the new fallen snow. The boy shifted, but otherwise did not react as six individuals walked through the entrance and through the streets of the eerily still town. They were dressed identically, emerald hooded robes with golden lining draped over their black tunics. Their faces were hidden by purple veils adorned with a single red eye surrounded by silver markings.

The figures walked through the empty streets slowly and deliberately, until they stood before the boy strumming his guitar. The boy did nothing to acknowledge their presence. Instead, he changed the tune he was playing and began to sing a slow, almost remorseful melody.

 _They see you as small and helpless_

 _They see you as just a child_

 _Surprise when they find out that a warrior will soon run wild…_

The front most figure cleared her throat, causing the boy to stop playing.

"Oh, good evening miss," he said, an apologetic smile playing across his lips, "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you approach. Would you like me to play you a song? Only five lien will get you a request."

The woman chuckled, a low, seductive sound that almost sent shivers up the young man's spine.

"No, dear child, I'm afraid we've come to speak with the mayor of this dear town," the woman said, her voice an almost unnaturally smooth. "You see, we are priests from the Order of Helius, and he agreed to meet us here so we could come so that we would discuss his monthly…donation."

The boy cocked his head, "Helius, as in the Vacuo God of the Sun?"

The woman nodded her head, "The same. We are her acolytes, and we spread her warmth to all that welcome her light."

"Interesting," the boy said thoughtfully, before shrugging his shoulders, "Unfortunately it's just me tonight. You see, apparently this town's been having some trouble with bandits of late. They were expecting them to show up tonight, and were hoping I could help sort them out. Tell me…" his voice lowered as he raised his face towards the group, "…you didn't see them on your way here, did you?"

The woman said nothing, but her hand slowly moved for the dagger behind her back. The boy tilted his head, and if it weren't for the pieces of clothe obscuring both of their eyes, she would have sworn his were staring into hers.

"I don't like your aura," he said accusingly. "It shivers of malice and greed."

The woman's body lurched forward as she drew her dagger and drove it towards the boy that dared insult her. The boy was too quick however, her blade digging into the ground as he leapt into the air.

The priests saw him land on the statues pedestal but quickly scattered as shots flew in their direction. They dodged and weaved around the potshots until they stopped coming. Once the cultists regained their senses, they looked up at their attacker as he rose to stand at full height.

The cloak and blindfold had been discarded, revealing a huntsman wearing a silver thigh length coat with black shoulder pads and grey accents sewn into them draped over a purple shirt. He sported black pants and grey shoes, but the most striking feature about him was the pair of black-rimmed glasses he wore bearing mirrored lenses that shined in the moonlight that had begun to peek through the clouds.

In his hands, the boy held a pair of large, black, box shaped handguns. With a flick of his wrist, the body of the guns snapped upwards, blades that appeared to be folded in half extending from the barrels as the back half of the blades flipped forward and clicked into place on top, turning the guns into a pair of khopesh swords.

"That's the problem with using fear to rule over others," the young man said, an air of authority now in his voice. "Given enough time, they grow tired of it, and decide to fight back."

One of the priests, a shorter man with a pair of tusks poking out from under his veil, gave a small chuckle.

"So what, you're supposed to be their champion or something?" he chortled. "A wannabe huntsman who's not even old enough to cross the street alone? Give us a break, kid, you're both outnumbered and outmatched."

The silver-garbed huntsman smiled, "If you say so."

The tusked priest pulled a small gun from his belt and released a hail of fire dust shots at the boy. The shots met only steel, as the huntsman deflected the flaming bolts with ease. A battle cry alerted him to a priest diving towards him from the left, her spear driving towards his head. He dove to the ground out of her way and immediately raised his sword to block the leader's dagger before it met his throat.

The sound boots crunching snow alerted him to the rest of the group rushing him. He immediately swung upwards at the leader, causing her to leap backwards and leaving him open to deflect a blow from the largest priest, who wielded a heavy axe. The huntsman managed to push him back and kicked his foot out behind him, driving it into the stomach of the spear-wielder that had jumped from the statue and tried to rush him from behind him. A loud 'oomph' was pushed from her lips as she was slammed against the stone pedestal behind her.

Not given a second to think, the duel wielder dove under the combined retaliation of the leader and axe-wielder. Leaping to his feet, he collapsed his weapons into their gun forms and fired at the three remaining cultists behind them. The one to his right, the one with tusks, dove behind a barrel in front of the nearest building and started firing back. The one to his left, a petite woman, took cover around the corner of the building next to her. The huntsman saw the middle one, a tall, but lean man, try to raise his aura in time to absorb the shot flying straight for his chest. He was too slow, however, and the wind-dust bolt struck him square in the chest, causing the bandit to fly backwards, landing hard on the street where he lay unmoving.

"Onyx!" the tusked priest called out. Enraged, he jumped from behind the barrel and rushed towards his opponent, firing madly as he screamed.

The huntsman charged at the cultist, quickly switching his weapons to their khopesh forms. He deflected the fire dust charges that flew in his direction, the sounds behind him confirming that the other three were close on his tail.

The tusked priest's weapon clicked as he was mere feet away from the silver-garbed fighter. He threw it to the side and dove at his enemy arms outstretched, clearly intending to strangle him. At the last minute, the huntsman dropped to his knees, sliding under the faunus poised to attack him.

As if in slow motion, the priest watched as the huntsman slid underneath him. As the tusked faunus landed in front of his companions he looked back and barely had time to register the small object that hand been left in the huntsman's wake before it exploded in their faces. The cultists all cried out it pain as a blinding white flash filled their vision, instantly robbing them of their sight.

The huntsman leaped to his feet, ready to charge the stunned group. He acted too rashly, however, as he failed to dodge largest cultist's axe as he swung it blindly in front of him. The large blade caught him square in the chest, causing to go flying into the middle of the street. His aura had managed to keep the blade from cleaving him in two, but it still drove the breath from his lungs.

Struggling to get up, he managed to get a solid footing just in time to hear the leader shout "Vetra, now!"

The huntsman whipped his head around and saw the petite cultist come from behind the building. Her sleeves had been rolled up to reveal a pair of black gloves with white lines etched into them. The young man raised his blades in a defensive stance as a large blast of wind barreled towards him. The cold seeped into his skin as the gust tore through him, the fresh-fallen snow forming a cloud around him. Above the wind, he managed to make out the sound of the bandit leader barking orders at her men, directing them to various positions around him.

Despite the cold typhoon still assaulting him, the huntsman allowed himself a small smile.

 _They didn't take the hint before?_

Slowly, the silver-garbed warrior rose to his feet and calmed his breathing. The cultists may not have had the advantage that they believed themselves to have, but if he wanted to end this soon, he would have to do this right. Placing himself in a defensive stance, he braced himself and waited.

He didn't have to wait long, as through the thick blanket of swirling snow, an arc of fireballs flew towards him. He managed to deflect the one that threatened to strike him, then immediately turned to face the spear-wielder that had charged from behind him. He used one of his weapons to parry the attack, while he collapsed the other into its gun form and fired it point blank into her chest. She cried out as she flew back into the wall of snow.

Without missing a step, the huntsman dropped to the ground, firing his gun at the legs of the axe-wielder that had charged at him from his right. The priest cried out in pain as he dropped towards the ground, but was met halfway down with an uppercut from the butt of the huntsman's sword.

Putting both weapons into their gun modes, the spectacled youth leaped to his feet and fired short bursts to his left and right. The wind immediately died down, and the snow settled to reveal both Vetra and the faunus priest on the ground, crying in pain from the wounds in their shoulders.

The huntsman sighed, but started when he heard a cry of anger erupt from behind him. He spun around and was met with the shoulder of the leader driven into his chest. He lost his grip on his weapons as he crashed to the ground, groaning in pain. The head cultist stabbed wildly at him, but he managed to roll away and swing his leg at her face, his foot catching on her veil and tearing it from her, revealing the face of a tan-skinned face with crimson eyes that were now burning with hatred. He managed to get to his feet but she managed to connect a blow to the side of his head with the hilt of her dagger, sending his glasses flying. She swung at him again but he caught her arm and twisted it, causing her to drop the dagger and cry out in pain.

Her face was twisted in anger as she slowly sank to the ground. Her crimson eyes shot up to meet his, but when they did, her anger turned to stark terror. Her companions, the one's still conscious, looked up to see their leader screaming out in horror as the huntsman's eyes bore into her.

Without breaking eye contact, the huntsman rose to his feet, and struck the head priestess straight in the face, knocking her out cold. Without a word, he retrieved his weapons and sunglasses. Placing the latter back on his face, he turned to face the rest of the bandits. He had never seen auras filled with such fear as he did with them.

"So," he said with an almost casual tone, "Anyone else?"

# # #

The townsfolk cheered as the bandits were led away in chains. Children played in the snow as their parents looked on in happiness. Near the town square, the young huntsman listened with amusement as a pair of children played fetch with their dog using snowballs.

A tall woman with greying hair and piercing blue yes approached him, a small stack of lien in her hands.

"Five thousand lien, as we agreed upon, sir," she said as she handed him the stack of cards. "I'm sorry we couldn't do more."

He smiled as he accepted the payment, placing it into his coat pocket.

"If that's all you can give, that's all you can give," he stated plainly, "It's not your fault that they managed to bleed you dry."

The mayor nodded as she looked upon the cultists with worry, "And you're sure we won't face retaliation from the rest of their Order?"

"There is no Order," she looked back at him with shock in her eyes.

"Even in Vacuo, Helius is regarded as nothing more than a myth. No one's truly worshiped her in generations." He paused to adjust his coat against the cold. "Besides, the hole they were living out of was barely suited for the six of them, let alone a whole organization. Chances are they stole the outfits from some legitimate church and used them to put on a convincing façade. You were right to call them bandits. That's all they really ever were."

The mayor nodded as she looked back to the criminals, silently fuming that she had let herself be duped by such a simple trick.

"Don't blame yourself," the huntsman said. "It's amazing how intimidating the unknown can be."

The mayor nodded, then looked sorrowfully as the huntsman made his way towards the town's entrance.

"And there's no way we can convince you to stay?"

The youth chuckled, "Can't. Beacon's entrance exams are only a few months away, and I've still got a lot of work to do if I'm going to be ready for them."

The town's mayor smiled as the boy made his leave.

"Well in that case, thank you for everything, Mr. Argent Glass."


	2. Purple Prologue

_When one seeks light for far too long, the dark becomes more than wayward shadows_

Silence hung in the large locker room as students fidgeted anxiously in their seats. Just past the door leading to the arena beyond this area, the muffled sounds of intense combat could be heard. This was the day they had been working towards for the past four years: the practical portion of Sanctum Academy's final exams. This test would pit them in actual combat against actual creatures of Grimm, and be a large of not only whether or not they would graduate Sanctum, but whether or not they would be qualified to enter the prestigious Huntsmen Academies that were spread across Remnant.

At one of the benches placed furthest from the door, a young faunus with freckled skin took a deep breath as a means to keep herself calm. She was an average-height girl with chestnut skin and deep red eyes. Her long violet hair was tied back in a braid that she had resting over her shoulder, with her long bangs brushed to the side underneath a pair of purple cat ears. She wore a purple trimmed black suit with a magenta tie. Fingerless gloves covered her hands as her digits nervously drummed on her thighs. Just like the rest, she had worked towards this day for as long as she could remember, but now that it was here, she couldn't help but find it more than daunting.

The sound of a buzzer came from the direction of the arena, indicating that the fight had ended. A few minutes later, a girl with golden armor and red hair tied into a ponytail walked out, looking spent but pleased with herself. As she walked past the other students, the purple-haired faunus couldn't help but feel her lip curl in annoyance. Of course this exam hadn't been a problem for 'the Invincible Girl.' Surely for someone like her, a Huntress Training Certificate wouldn't even feel like an accomplishment, just another trophy to add to her expansive collection.

The girl rolled her eyes. She shouldn't waste time thinking about people that clearly thought themselves to be too good for people like her. She had her own future to worry about.

A professor holding a clipboard stepped through the door.

"Alexander Noir?"

A boy with pitch black hair and armor to match nervously stood up and headed for the arena, his face doing nothing to hide his apprehension.

One by one, the students were called to take their exam, anticipation building in the violet-haired girls stomach. Only a few more participants remained until…

"Krystal Violetta?"

The cat faunus took a deep breath as she stood up and made her way towards the door. A thousand thoughts raced through her head, but she managed to push them down and focus on her goal.

 _Confident. Composed. Professional. We've got this._

 _# # #_

Krystal found herself standing in a small combat arena. The octagonal field was bare and grey, and the light blue stands were completely empty. To Krystal's front, left, and right, large mechanical doors bearing the crest of the Kingdom of Mistral stood poised to open. Krystal stood straight with her hands folded in front of her, looking up at the large box built into the stands, where she knew her examiners were watching.

"Krystal Violetta?" a voice rang out over the loud speaker. Krystal nodded her head, and the voice continued with a speech that the speaker was clearly getting bored with, if their tone was anything to go by.

"You are about to begin the practical portion of your final exams. During this exam, you will be placed in a live combat scenario that will include live targets. Your objective will be to eliminate these targets within the allotted time. During this exam, you will be graded on your combat capabilities, your ability to read a situation, and your aura management.

"If at any point during the exam, you feel that you are being overwhelmed, you are to shout out 'I forfeit.' Should you do so, the exam will end and you will immediately be failed. Should you attempt to leave the arena whilst the exam is in session, the exam will end and you will be failed. Should your aura drop beneath ten percent during the course of the exam, the exam will end and you will be failed. Do you have any questions?"

Krystal shook her head.

"Good. In that case, let the examination begin."

The bay doors on either side of Krystal whined as they began to open. As the cat faunus noted the unmistakable sound of creatures of Grimm growling from the other side, she reached behind her back and unsheathed her weapons, a pair of scarlet katars. They each sported a blade measuring a foot long, with a pair of gun barrels adorning each side of the blade's base.

The opening to her left barely cleared three feet when the first Grimm bolted out the gate. Krystal's eyes snapped to the side as she saw a Creep rushing her, the creature bellowing as it charged into battle.

The freckled student wasted no time in meeting her opponents advance, leaping into the air and twisting her body to deliver a spinning slash to the nape of the monster's neck. The Creep cried out as it collapsed to the ground, it's body already dissolving. Krystal hit the ground but immediately leapt back in the air, curving into a backflip as she fired at the second Creep that tried to rush her from behind. She landed and raised her arm just in time to block the sweeping claw of a Beowolf that had come from the same direction. Behind it, she could see more Grimm spilling from the darkness, and the growls from behind her told the cat faunus that the same was the case behind her.

Despite the stakes, and despite her attempt at a stoic demeanor, a toothy smirk formed on her lips.

 _Fun_.

While Krystal's left arm blocked the Beowolf's paw, she used her right to slice it off. The Grimm roared in pain as Krystal dropped, delivering a quick slash to the monster's abdomen. Before the dying beast had a chance to drop to the ground, the faunus leaped off the ground, bringing her feet up in front of her. Placing her feet on the Grimm's chest, she used it to launch herself at the monsters charging from behind. She crashed into the lead Beowolf head on, burying her blades into its chest. She pulled on her weapons in an attempt to slash at the Beowolf to her right, but found it stuck in her current victims ribcage. Before she had the chance to pull it out, a shadow passed over her. Looking she saw a pair of claws descending upon her as the Grimm on either side of her rushed to take advantage of her predicament. Krystal could only smirk as a faint purple light quickly enveloped her.

The Grimm's massive paws smashed down upon their prey. The corpse of their fellow monster was instantly decimated in a flash of violet light, but when they raised their paws, the young girl was nowhere to be seen. Before they could react further, a shadow passed above them. The Grimm looked up to see the cat faunus descending upon them, her katars poised to strike. The first Beowolf was too slow to react as Krystal's weapons severed its neck. The second one tried to swipe at her as she hit the ground, but she rolled underneath its claws and thrust her katar under its jaws. She pulled the trigger of her weapon, blowing a hole through the top of its head.

As the Beowolf's body began to fade, the sound of snarling drew Krystal's attention to the remaining Grimm charging at her from the side of the arena. Krystal drew her arm back and hurled one of her katar's at the monsters barreling at her.

The blade dug itself into the leftmost Beowolf's chest. While it wasn't a fatal wound, it was still enough for the Grimm to howl out in pain. An instant later, a flash of purple light filled the Beowolf's vision, only for it to be replaced by the faunus not a second later, her hand gripping onto her weapon. Grimm are incapable of feeling fear, but as the monster gazed at the smile that the girl was now making no effort to hide, a feeling grew in its stomach that its existence might soon come to an end. The light flashed again, and the faunus was gone.

Flash.

The Grimm in the center howled as Krystal slashed at its eyes.

Flash.

The Grimm in the rear collapsed as it felt metal cut into its legs.

Flash.

A web of cuts appeared in the left most Grimm's chest as Krystal cut into it mercilessly.

Flash.

Flash.

Flash.

Howls of pain filled the arena as the Grimm struggled to keep up with the purple light that surrounded them, bringing nothing but pain and injury. They swiped their claws in every direction they could, but only caught air as the infernal purple light danced around them. Finally, one last flash lit the arena, and the last Beowolf collapsed to the ground, it's body covered in slashes.

Krystal sat crouched on the ground, her blades still poised from her final strike. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she panted, her arms shaking from the onslaught. After taking a minute to catch her breath, she struggled her feet and stood up straight towards the judge's box with her hands behind her back. Adopting a small, polite smile, she bowed towards the examiners.

"Thank you very much for your time. I must admit, this was quite the chall-," her smile fell as the door below the examiner's box began to open. Her eyes widened as she saw another pair of enemies moving out from the shadows, these two far from different from the foes she had just defeated.

"Huntsmen and huntresses often find themselves taking many kinds of jobs that have them facing various forms of challenges. Did you think you would only be fighting Grimm in the future?"

Krystal didn't miss the amusement in the examiner's voice as he read this last part. Apparently, watching potential graduates squirm under this twist was the part that didn't get old.

Smug bastard.

Standing in front of Krystal was a pair of large robots. The one on the left was tall, bulky, and covered in red armor. In its hand, it wielded a large polearm that sported two large blades on either end. The foe on the right was of a similar build, but instead sported white armor. It wielded a large minigun that seemed to have a grenade launcher built into the bottom. Blue eyes shone from both of them staring at Krystal with a fixed expression that the cat faunus could only assume was meant to resemble anger. Tensing up, Krystal readied her blades.

The red robot charged at her first, the polearm spinning in its hand. Krystal raised her blades to defend, but the sheer force of the strike caused her to fly backwards. The impact of hitting the floor drove the breath from her lungs, and as she struggled to get to her feet, she looked up and saw the red android coming down upon her, its spear driving towards her. She leaped out of the way just in time to watch the blade dig into the floor where her chest had just been. Krystal tried to leap forward for a counterstrike, but was cut off as an arc of gunfire from the white android made its way towards her.

She raised her blades in time to deflect the bullets, but the distraction gave red robot enough time to dig its blade from the ground and make a strike at her. Krystal rolled to the right, just missing the blade, but before she had the chance to get to her feet, a small noise brought her attention to the floor. She looked, and only had just enough time to widen her eyes before the small grenade at her feet exploded, throwing her into the air. Krystal's back hit the wall behind her, a small cry escaping her lips as she once again felt her breath to be forced from her lungs.

Shaking off the dizziness that clouded her mind, Krystal glanced up at the board above that displayed her aura levels. She was still safely in the yellow, but the blows from the robots and the overuse of her semblance earlier had drained her of quite a bit. If she wanted to pass, she had to end this fast or risk taking more damaging blows. Slowly, she struggled to her feet as the red robot charged her.

Krystal dashed forward. The red android raised its polearm to strike at her, but at the last moment, the cat faunus dropped to her knees and slid under the swinging blade. Getting back to her feet, she charged towards the white robot, only to be met with yet another hail of gunfire. Undeterred, Krystal weaved from left to right, dodging and leaping over the shots as she closed the distance between them. Behind her, she heard the sound of metal on metal as the red menace gave chase.

As she grew closer, Krystal saw the white robot reach for a secondary trigger, the one Krystal assumed must be for the grenade launcher. Just as its metallic finger closed around it, the cat faunus disappeared in another flash of violet light. She instantly reappeared behind the white android, grabbing onto its shoulders and slamming her foot into the back of its weapon, angling it upwards just as its finger squeezed the trigger. A grenade flew through the air and made contact with the red robots head. An explosion reduced the android's cranium to scrap as the crimson body collapsed to the floor.

Pushing against the butte of the gun to hoist herself up, Krystal slammed her katar into the android's neck. She let out a yell as she repeatedly pulled the trigger as she fired shot after shot into the robot's throat. The bullets tore through the metal, shredding it to pieces until eventually the robot's entire skull flew off of its body, causing it to crumble to the ground in a manner similar to its red counterpart.

Breathing heavily, Krystal picked herself up off of the mechanical corpse and turned once again towards the examiner's booth, her hands placed behind her back.

After a pregnant pause, the judge's voice rang through the arena's speakers.

"Congratulations, you have successfully completed the practical portion of your final exams. Well done, Miss Violetta." The sound of clapping could be heard as the rest of Krystal's examiners offered a round of congratulatory applause. Krystal smiled as she bowed to them in thanks before turning and making her way to the door. A wave of excitement and relief washed over her as she exited the arena, giving encouraging gestures to the remaining students, and doing nothing to hide the wide grin that had spread on her face.

 _Beat that, Invincible Girl._


	3. Blue Prologue

**AN: After calling these things 'Trailers' for the longest time, I finally remembered that there's a more literature-friendly term that fits much better. Well, better late than never, I guess. Anywho, I hope you enjoy my latest PROLOGUE.  
**

* * *

 _Those who look for extremes will only find confusion, for there is no such thing as black and white, only various shades of grey_

A young woman in an orange jumpsuit walked between the cafeteria tables of Atlas Advanced Penitentiary's cafeteria. She was tall, with hazel skin, dark green eyes, and smooth teal hair that was braided to the left side, the right of her head buzzed down so far it was almost shaved. Around her, the various inmates of Atlas Advanced went about their business, sitting down at tables and scarfing down what the prison tried to pass off as "food". Above them, prison guards patrolled the catwalks, watching over the inmates.

The girl walked past all of them, heading towards a table nearest to the south wall, where only one other occupant was sitting. Her face was mostly hidden by the large hood that she had sewn into her jumpsuit, but as the first woman sat down, she saw a pair of ocean blue eyes looking at her, a wide smile splitting the fair skin of her face.

"Good afternoon, Azure, how was your morning," the hooded girl asked. The girl known as Azure marveled that for all the time the girl claimed to be in Atlas, her accent was just as strong as the day she came to Mantle-based prison.

"Good morning, Ink, my morning was quite well, how about yours," Azure said as she began to stab at her food. These weren't their real names, of course. No one called each other by their real names. No one really knew why, or when the tradition had started, that's simply how things were in Atlas Advanced.

The two girls chatted away for a few moments, filling the air with idle chatter. As they chatted, a large man with grey skin, black eyes, and sharpened teeth walked past Azure, bumping her back with his elbow. She turned around to glare at him, only to be met with his own stare as he bared his teeth to the bluenette.

"You better watch yourself, Azure," the shark faunus growled. "I'm starting to get tired of this prison food, and I've been craving human meat."

He leaned down, putting his face level to hers.

"You wouldn't want to be on my bad side should these cravings become…overpowering, now would you?"

Azure growled. She willed her semblance to activate, but as usual, nothing happened. Not for the first time, she cursed the violet lights that were mixed with amongst the standard bulbs. When General Ironwood began his campaign to study from his scientific angle, one of the first things his team ended up discovering was how to suppress it. The means to do so had proven to be inefficient for battle, due to the large amount of energy required, but for facilities like Atlas Advanced Penitentiary, it was perfect. That's what this place was, a specialized prison custom built to house any criminal with an unlocked aura and a semblance that would make them difficult to contain otherwise. The guards were, of course, immune to the field. The bands adorning all of their wrists negated the fields particular effects, but for Azure and the rest of the prisoners, they were as powerless as your average citizen.

Keeping this in mind, Azure forced apologetic smile onto her face as she looked back at the hulking shark faunus glaring at her.

"Sorry about that, Blacktip, I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." Blacktip straightened up.

"Be sure that it doesn't," he growled as he walked over to his own table.

Azure rolled her eyes and turned back to Ink, who was busy staring at the clock.

"Three more minutes," she said, before passing a small package to Azure under the table. Azure grabbed it and opened it up, revealing one of the guards' wristbands as well as a single earbud. The bluenette smiled as she slipped the accessories into their respective places. Ink's friend had come through after all. Grinning across the table to the hooded girl, she dropped her voice to a low whisper.

"Do you remember the plan?" she asked. Ink nodded.

"At twelve fifty-nine, we make sure a riot breaks out. Once the riot is in full swing, the power should cut out just before the guards use their countermeasure. Once that happens, we make our way out of here, you using the north exit, whilst I use the west. From there, we use the routes provided by my friend to make it to the lower levels and use the secret tunnels to gain our way to freedom."

Ink reached over and tapped the band around Azule's wrist, "Be sure not to activate that until you need it. They have very limited power, so we'll need to use them sparingly."

Azure nodded and looked back to the clock. Thirty seconds to go.

"Well then," she said as she stood up, "Better get to work then."

Azure picked up her now empty tray and strolled over to the table where Blacktip was sitting with his fellow goons. Azure slowed to a stop behind him before tapping his shoulder. He looked behind him looking rather annoyed.

"What do you want, princess?"

"Oh nothing," she said with a smirk, "I was just wondering feeling peckish yet."

With that, she raised her tray and slammed it against his shaved head. Roaring with anger, Blacktip rose and swung a fist towards Azure's face. Unfortunately for him, she spun to avoid it, wrapping her arms around his as she used his own momentum to throw him into the table behind them. He slammed into two of the prisoners, causing the rest of the table's occupants to rise from their seats. All around them, the rest of the inmates began to stand, sensing the storm that was about to come. Blacktip rose and tried again to make a swing for Azure, only to be struck from behind by one of the prisoners he had slammed into.

Chaos erupted. Prisoners began fighting one another. Fists and feet were flying left and right, and bodies began flying through the air as a few imprisoned huntsmen began leaping over the rest of the inmates in order to take each other on. Out of the corner of her eye, Azure saw Ink make her way towards the west exit, signaling her to start making her way towards the north. Above the riot, one of the guards inserted a key into the wall, causing a panel to open that revealed a switch that would activate the lightning dust imbued into the floors, taking the rioting prisoners out of commission. Just as she was about to flip it, however, the lights across the room suddenly went out.

Azure bolted towards the north exit, dodging past all of the rioting prisoners, but just before she went through the doors, she looked back to see Ink exiting the west doors. As the doors began to shut, Ink stopped to activate her bracelet. Looking back, she gave Azure a smile and a wink, before her semblance caused her to fade from view.

Azure gave her a smirk before heading out the doors, ready to fight her way past anyone who dared to stand in her way.

# # #

Ink made her way through the corridor, her semblance leaving her completely unseen. The backup generators had kicked in, restoring the lights as well as the aura-suppressing field, but her wristband allowed her aura to remain active. The map that Azure and she had poured over for the last few weeks was burned into her head as she rounded the corners ahead. _Left, right, left, left again._

As she came up to the next turn, however, she sidetracked to another hall. _Just one small detour, and we're into the home stretch._

She ran down the hall until she came across a door labelled 'Personal Effects'. Inputting a stolen code, Ink opened up the door and walked inside towards the back of the room, pulling her hood down as she walked.

# # #

Azure dashed through the hallways, following the route that Ink had provided for her. A guard ran up to her, but her fist ended up being quicker than his weapon as he was sent flying through the air. Azure blew on her fist, wincing at the pain of landing a punch without her aura. While Ink had activated her wristband right out the gate, Azure's route was considerably longer than her co-conspirator's, and she so she didn't want to waste her advantage unless necessary. Shaking her fist, Azure rounded a corner only to stop dead in her tracks.

In front of her was a dead end. Where there was supposed to be an extended corridor that should have lead straight for the lower levels was instead a short hallway that ended in nothing but a cement wall.

 _No, no this doesn't make sense,_ Azure thought. _Ink and I have been planning this for weeks. I made sure I knew that map better than I knew the alphabet! This is supposed to be the right way! Unless-_

Azure's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of mechanical whirring coming from behind her. She turned to see five AK-130 robots had appeared behind her, their arms in gun mode and pointing at her.

" _You are surrounded, Prisoner 2197,"_ the middle robot said, it's artificial voice deepened for the sake of intimidation. _"Cease all hostilities and surrender."_

Azure sneered at the machines as she hit the activation band on her wristband. She sighed as she felt her aura activate, healing her bruised knuckles and, most importantly, allowing her to finally activate her semblance.

"You may have me surrounded," Azure boasted towards her opponents, as she willed a pair of energy blades to form around her fists, "But you're not even close to having me corner- "

Azure's speech was cut off as her wristband sparked and died. She looked in horror at her wrist as she felt her aura die, taking her energy weapons with it. The robots were unimpressed, and the cocking sound that came from their arms told Azure that they were ready to fire.

" _I repeat, cease all hostilities and surrender. This is your final warning."_

Azure pressed her finger to her ear, activating the earbud.

"Ink, I need help! My route's been cut off and my wristband isn't working!"

" _Yeah, my source said it might do that,"_ Ink replied. Azure's face twisted in anger as the robots' guns began to spin, indicating they were about to fire.

" _I appreciate the distraction you managed to cause,"_ Ink continued, _"You've certainly made things much easier for me. Good luck on winging it from here."_

Azure ripped out her earbud, throwing it to the ground as she screamed.

"INK YOU BI- ", Azure was cut off once again as a hail of rubber bullets slammed into her. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.

Across the prison, an invisible figure stepped out of the 'Personal Effects' room, removing her earbud and crushing it beneath her boot.

 _Fair travels, Azure,_ Ink thought with a smile, _may you find peace in your solitude._

Ink closed the door behind her and made her way towards out. The only sign that she was ever there was a crushed earpiece, and a discarded jumpsuit with a hood sewn into it.

# # #

On the south side of the prison, the prisoner made her way through the final stretch, a large room that lead to a set of ancient tunnels so old that they didn't appear on any modern maps. The entrances were sealed up, but Ink's source had found a weak point in one of them that could be blasted open by even her weapon. Eyeing the wall across the room, Ink made her way towards it.

Once she made it halfway across the room, however, Ink started as she heard the door slam shut behind her. Around her, a team of AK-130s appeared, coming out of the secret compartments that had concealed them.

Above her head, a voice sounded over a hidden PA system.

"You are surrounded. We know your plan, and we know how your semblance works. Give up this foolish attempt, and surrender at once, River Zelena."

Beneath the guise of her semblance, River, the inmate known as Ink, couldn't help but smile.

"I'll give you this, Madame Warden," she said defiantly, "You always knew how to pretend you knew what you were doing."

River let her semblance fall, revealing herself to the Atlesian Knights surrounding her. The woman that appeared before them was slim, with a toned, athletic body. Over her dark blue tights, she wore a silver breastplate, knee-high boots, and bracers. A green garb was wrapped around her waist, draping over her shoulder and forming a sleeve on her right arm, a blue belt holding it in place. Spiky blue hair flowed down her back, with long bangs framing her smirking face. In her right hand, she held a blue pole that was topped with a silver hook. She looked up at the faceless voice, her blue eyes filled with fire.

"So," she yelled, "Do you want to prove you can take me in!?"

The warden said nothing, but the Knights began to advance, their arms switching to blade form as they approached her.

River smirked as the nearest robot raised its arm. "Pity," she said. The bluenette swung her hook upwards, catching the underside of the Knight's faceplate and ripping it off. Spinning her staff, she stuck the butt end into the exposed opening and, pulling the trigger located near the head of her weapon, blew a hole through the back of its head.

As the machine crumbled to the ground, River turned to the rest of the machines, who hesitated to approach after the first one's defeat. _Funny,_ she thought, _I didn't know robots even knew how to hesitate._

River looked around, an annoyed expression forming on her face.

"Well?" she said, "Are we doing this or what? I haven't got all day, you know."

The two nearest her charged first, their arms in blade mode and poised to attack. As they swung their arms, River deflected the blade of the left most robot, stabbing it into the arm of the one on the right. Swinging her hook, she sliced off the arm of the left one, before kicking the right one in the abdomen, sending them both sprawling. Twirling her weapon, she began firing shots at the Knights behind them. Two of them raised their blades to deflect the bullets, while a third rushed forward. The robot thrust its weapon towards her face. It met air, however, as River dropped to the ground and used her legs to sweep the robot's out from under it. Quickly rising, she hooked her weapon under its chin and, before it hit the ground, ripped upwards, severing the head from its body.

Flicking her hook, River flung the robot head at one of its compatriots. The Knight ducked to dodge the head, but it looked back up just in time to see the inmate leaping towards it. River swung her hook down upon the robot, embedding her hook into its head. As it began to spark, the bluenette used it as a pivot, swinging towards its companion and striking it in the chest with an armored boot. The Atlesian Knight slammed against the wall and crumbled to the floor, twitching. Planting her feet on the ground once more, River wrenched her weapon downward, slicing the robot in half. As its pieces fell to the ground, the remaining three Knights approached her, their arms in gun mode.

Pressing her feet firmly into the floor, River launched herself back towards the backmost wall as the Knights began to fire. River twirled her staff in circles, using it to deflect the bullets as they assailed her. After a few moments of the fruitless assault, the nearest robot switched its arms back to its blades and charged towards her. The prisoner waited until the Knight was mere inches from her before leaping away, causing it to run headlong into the wall behind her. The Knight managed to punch straight through the wall, the impact revealing the entrance to the tunnels River had been looking for.

With way to freedom revealed, the bluenette turned to her final two opponents. The robots rushed her, their blades at the ready. As they reached her, they thrust their blades forward, intending to impale her. Instead, River leaped into the air, dodging their blades completely. Just as she reached to apex of her leap, she swung her hook at one of the Knights. Her blade detached from the rifle, flying downwards towards the robots back, trailing a chain behind it. The hook embedded itself into the Knight, and River yanked it back towards her, bringing the robot up to her just as it brought her down to it. She slammed her feet directly into the Knight's spine, crushing the armor as well as a great deal of its internal mechanisms. They crashed to the ground, causing the final Knight to turn towards the noise, only to find the business end of a rifle pointed underneath its chin.

River smiled and pulled the trigger, the bullet blowing clean through the Atlesian Knight's neck and sending its head flying. As the body collapsed to the ground, River let out a long sigh, before looking mournfully up to the ceiling.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You know this is something I have to do."

There was nothing but silence before the warden spoke.

"I'll have no choice but to chase you, River. You know that, right?"

River smirked before making her way to the exit, her semblance causing her body to fade.

"You'll look for me," she looked back at the ceiling, a sad smile forming on her face, "but you'll never find me."

* * *

 **AN: Well, that one ended up being a bit longer than the first two. The final action scene wasn't quite as long as I was hoping, but then this one was a bit more story based than the others, so it is what it is.**

 **Once again, don't be afraid to leave any form of feedback. It's been quite a long time since I've written anything, so if it turns out I'm sucking at this, I would very much like to know. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you at the next, and final 'trailer'**


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